By Your Side
by AlwaysBeenACowgirl
Summary: To where will you run? Cause I'll be by your side wherever you've fallen, dead of night, whenever you've callen.
1. Chapter 1

Hey everybody! This is AlwaysBeenACowgirl, I used to be I Am A Cowgirl but I had a bad accident and stopped writing for a while, as you might have noticed with my own stories and One Hell Of A Summer with Horse-nerd. Well Im back to writing and here's a very short Chapter One of my new story By Your Side. Tell me what you think and if I should post my old stories! Love ya!

Chapter One

A dull red old ford pickup truck bumped down the bumpy drive of Riverbend ranch. It rolled over the rickety bridge and slid to a stop as the drive way met the farmhouse. The door opened and a cowboy stepped out. Lengthy black hair was tied back in a leather tie and a dark Stetson was placed over it, shading his eyes from view. He had a chiseled jaw and a cleft in his chin. He swallowed as he looked around, Adam's apple jumping in his throat.

Jacob Ely scanned the ranch yard. Everything felt so barren, so dead. There were no horses out to graze in the generous pastures, no sounds of cattle; chickens were oddly silent and unseen. Even Blaze, the border collie, wasn't present.

The screen door opened and Bryanna stepped out on to the porch, hauling suitcases behind her. One toppled down the wooden steps and burst open, throwing articles of clothing all over the cold ground. Bryanna crumpled to the floor, tears spilling from her blue eyes.

Uncomfortable, Jacob rubbed the back of his neck and started down the walk towards the opened suitcase. Bending down, Jacob started repacking the thick winter sweaters into the suitcase. At the sound of the scrapping suitcase on the brick of the walk Bryanna looked up startled.

"Jacob, what are you doing here?" Bryanna asked her voice squeaky from crying

"Thought I'd come over and see how you and Sam were doing." He said, zipping the suitcase closed and standing up to his towering height.

"I thought you were off visiting collages."

Bryanna stood up, tugging her hair behind her ears and pulled at her crinkled shirt.

"I was, I came back" Jacob then took an awkward pause before saying "when I heard, I'm sorry."


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the reviews, I hope you like this chapter!

Chapter Two

Bryanna's chin trembled as she nodded and blinked, trying not to spill the tears. Looking down at her boots, she smile sadly and swallowed.

"It's on Thursday," She stammered.

"I'll be there," Jake nodded. Bryanna bit her lip and nodded again.

Clearing his throat Jake asked, "Would you like me to help you with these?" gesturing to the multiple suitcases she was previously was struggling with. Without waiting for an answer Jake lifted the one by his feet, climbed a few of the steps and hoisted two off of the porch floor, and put them in the back of Bryanna's car.

"Thanks." She mumbled as she handed him the rest of the bags to place in the truck. He nodded, and looked around the ranch yard for a glimpse of reddish brown hair.

"She's in the hay loft." Bryanna told him looking over at the old barn. She walked around him and gripped the door handle of her car and took a shuddering breath, pulling the door open. Before scooting into the car, she gazed back at the pasture, the house and let her gaze linger over the barn "Make her understand Jake, I'm doing the right thing."

"I'll try Bryanna."

"Good." She smiled and got in the car, driving away from Riverbend for the last time. Jake watched the car until it was out of sight. A dogs whimpering pulled his attention back to the porch. Blaze, the rambunctious collie, was laying there. His head was resting on his delicate paws, ear flopped to either side, eyes droopy. He glanced over a Jake and without a wag of his tail, resumed watching the barren ranch yard. This place was dead.

Jake shoved his hands in his pockets and sifted deeper into his brown jacket, and started off towards the barn. His boots sounded dull against the frozen ground, and he could just see the mist of his breath.

A few more wide strides and he was in the barn. He was surprised to notice quite a few of the horses were already missing. The only occupants of the barn now were Blue, Ace, Tempest and the horse Sam had wrote about in an email to him. Sam hadn't gotten around to naming him just yet; at least that's what she had said in the email. Even Bryanna's blind mare Penny, wasn't present.

Peering into the wide stall Tempest and the other horse stood in the corner standing close to each other, both having there head lowered, dozing away the winter day. The new horse was a creamy color with a dark brown mane and tail with a nose and stockings to match. Tempest blew air threw her nose, in a half hearted greeting and slowly moved over to the bars of the stall, poking her nose them she reached for Jake. He grinned and stepped closer, raising a gloved hand to her nose.

It was scary how much could change in the course of a day, Jake thought as he absent mindedly stroked Tempest's black nose. Just three days ago Sam had sent him and enthusiastic email about the new horse, and how Wyatt was going to let her train him. She had said she was going to use all Jake's techniques and make sure he would get a good home, and now look.

Giving a goodbye pat to Tempest, Jake stepped into the tack room and walked over to the creaky stairs in the corner. Jake trudged up the stairs without calling out, and soon he was at the top. There was a rustle in the hay behind him and he turned, met by a pair of glassy green eyes.


End file.
